Month: March 2017

A one day internationally certified (2 years) course suitable for members of the general public, clubs, communities and carers. It incorporates full heartsaver CPR and AED training with an additional CFR community level module including recognition and management of heart attack and stroke.

High blood pressure is the number one cause of premature death worldwide and is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. High blood pressure is very common in Ireland, with 60% of Irish adults suffering from the condition.

Known as the ‘silent killer’, high blood pressure rarely causes any signs or symptoms therefore the only way to detect the condition is to have your blood pressure checked. The good news is that blood pressure (BP) is easily measured, with little discomfort and Croí recommends that everyone should get their blood pressure checked at least once every year. The next bit of good news is, once you know you have elevated blood pressure you can take action to help control it.

What are the ideal target levels for blood pressure?

Knowing both your systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers is important and could save your life.

♥ If your blood pressure is below 120/80 (meaning less than 120 mmHg of systolic blood pressure and less than 80 mmHg of diastolic blood pressure) then you have normal healthy blood pressure.

♥ If your blood pressure is less than 140/90 but above 120/80 you are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure and you need to take some steps to improve your lifestyle.

♥ If your blood pressure is above 140/90 you need to be assessed by your GP or Practice Nurse to be diagnosed with high blood pressure.

It is important to be aware that high blood pressure cannot be diagnosed on one single reading, you need to have it checked on numerous occasions and you ideally need to have 24 hour blood pressure monitoring.

How can you reduce your blood pressure?

Everyone can benefit from taking measures to lower blood pressure. Even if you have a healthy blood pressure you can still take steps to ensure it remains healthy. Lifestyle measures such as weight control; increased physical activity; alcohol in moderation; quitting smoking; increased fruit and vegetable intake; opting for low fat dairy products and reducing your salt intake have all been shown to reduce blood pressure.

Did you know?

♥ A 10% weight reduction can lower you BP by as much as 10- 20mmHg

♥ Having no more than a half a teaspoon (2.4g) of salt a day can lower your BP by 2-8mmHg.

♥ If everyone in Ireland reduced their salt intake by this amount this could prevent approximately 900 deaths per year from stroke and heart disease.

♥ A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can lower your BP by 8-14mmHg

♥ Taking a brisk walk every day for 30 minutes can reduce your BP by 4-7mmHg

Salt can raise your blood pressure, which can increase your risk of stroke and other health problems. It is recommended to limit our salt intake to maximum 6g per day (1 level teaspoon).

How do I know which foods contain a lot of salt?

Due to recent changes in food labelling legislation, almost all food products now display a ‘traffic light' label to help you make a healthier choice. ‘Traffic light’ colours help you to see, at a glance, if a food has high, medium or low amounts of each of these nutrients in 100g of the food. For foods that don’t yet display the ‘traffic light’ label, here is a handy guide:

Salt

Low: 0g – 0.3g

Medium: 0.3g – 1.5g

High: More than 1.5g

Sodium

Low: 0g-0.1g

Medium: 0.1g-0.6g

High: More than 0.6g

Top tips to reduce salt intake:

Eat fresh and cook from scratch as much as possible.

Do not add salt to your food. Leave the salt cellar off the table and avoid adding salt to food while cooking.

“This is a fantastic piece which will obviously have huge appeal to Connacht fans as it captures a moment in Connacht history which will never be forgotten and the lucky buyer will also be making a very real difference to the fight against heart disease and stroke in Connacht” says Croi’s Neil Johnson

Pictured with the specially commissioned ‘once-off’ bronze sculpture of Connacht Captain John Muldoon raising the Pro 12 Champions Cup which goes under the hammer to raise funds for Croi on Friday March 24th, photo shows (left to right): Croi’s Neil Johnson with John Behan, Sculptor. Bids for this item, together with all the other items for auction at this year’s Croi Gala Ball can be made on line at www.galabid.com/croi

Details have just been announced of one of the city’s longest running annual charity fundraising events. This year marks the 32nd Annual Croi Gala Ball which will take place in the Radisson Blu Hotel Galway on Friday March 24th. The event offers a full nights entertainment programme with all proceeds supporting the fight against Heart Disease & Stroke.

So first of all, you may ask ‘what is workplace health promotion?’ The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion has defined it as ‘the combined efforts of employers, employees and society to improve the health and well-being of people at work.’ Workplace health promotion is becoming increasingly popular due to the numerous benefits associated with it. There are benefits for the workplace such as reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, reduced health care/insurance costs and improved staff morale. There are also benefits for the employee such as reduced stress, improved morale, improved health, enhanced self-esteem and having a safe and healthy working environment.

However, if you are reading this and thinking that you can’t really make any changes to your working environment since your organisation/company doesn’t implement any sort of workplace health promotion initiatives; well that is where you are wrong! There are plenty of changes which you can make yourself, as an employee, in order to make your work environment a healthier one. And one of these changes is to start to introduce more physical activity into your working day.

Unfortunately, the majority of the working population are working in sedentary office jobs which usually consist of sitting at a desk in front of a computer for long periods of time. A growing body of evidence suggests sedentary behaviour/inactivity can lead to negative health outcomes. Sitting for long periods of time has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also identified physical inactivity as the 4th largest risk factor for global adult mortality.

Therefore, it is clear that combatting physical inactivity during our working day is extremely important for our health. So, here are a few tips on how you might start to increase your physical activity levels during your 9-5!

TIPS

If you don’t have to commute far in the mornings, why not try changing your mode of transport to a more active one, for example, walking or cycling. Try to do it even once or twice a week to increase your physical activity levels. Or else, why not park a bit further away from your work place if you can and then walk/cycle the rest of the way.

If you do need to drive to work, park as far as you can away from the front door in the car park – those extra steps do count!

To break up prolonged sitting time, try to walk around or even just stand up from your seat every 20-30 minutes. Set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself.

Take the stairs instead of the lift. This one is something you hear all the time but most people forget to do it. So, make the conscious effort to take the stairs, even if your colleagues are taking the lift (you might even persuade them to change their minds!)

Place your printer on the opposite side of the room so you have to physically get up from your desk and walk over to it when you need to print or photocopy something.

If you get an hour lunch, why not try to squeeze in a 15 minute brisk walk? Bring your runners with you to work. You could also try to start a walking group with the other people in your office.

If you need to ask your colleague something, why not walk to their office instead of just sending them an email from your desk.

This is an obvious one but wear comfortable shoes. If your workplace uniform will allow it, try and buy comfortable (but still appropriate for work) shoes which will allow you to be more active during the day.

Buy a pedometer (or even download an app on your phone) to count your steps. According to the recommendations, you should be aiming to do 10,000 steps a day. If you have a competitive streak in you, why not try and set up a competition between offices to see who can build up the most steps! This is a great way to motivate yourself.

Stretch. When we sit down for long periods of time, the muscles in our bodies can get extremely tight, especially our hip flexors and lower back muscles. Try to counteract this by stretching a couple of times throughout the day. This will also break up your sitting time.

So, why not try to introduce even just a few of these tips into your working day this week and see if you can make a habit of being more active during your 9-5. Trust us, your health will thank you for it!